The Edgy Veg

Vegan Chick-fil-A Sandwich

Chick-fil-A Chicken Sandwich | Vegan recipe

Chick-fil-A Chicken Sandwich

The next time you feel that undeniable craving for fast food, even though you know it’s pretty much garbage wrapped up in foil, take matters into your own hands and make something just as tasty in your own kitchen. This has been philosophy for years, and became my saving grace when I went vegan.

Today, I am sharing with you my recipe for a Chick-Fil-A Sandwich, thanks to almost a year of begging by James and his friends. There are many recipes on my site and my channel for most of your fast food favorites done vegan style. But this one has probably been requested the most—and actually a dish I myself, have never tried the real version of. So this recipe was created blind with a room full of junk food-loving, male, Omni taste testers. There are 1,950 different places in America that you could be tempted to eat a Chick-fil-A sandwich, and while it would no doubt be delicious—I am confident you will find the vegan alternative just as satisfying, if not, far better in many ways.Vegan Chick-fil-A Sandwich

This recipe matches the unique flavors of a Chick-fil-A Spicy Chicken Deluxe sandwich, which using my seitan chicken recipe as the base. You’ve seen me use that in my McChicken Sandwich, McNuggets and Popeyes chicken recipes—so if you’ve made those, then you’ll be a pro at this. To get that pickle-y flavor unique to Chick-fil-A, we are going to marinate our seitan for about an hour in a pickle juice bath. Now DO NOT do this for more than an hour, or else all you will taste is pickles.

Like all my copycat recipes, I do try to keep them as authentic as possible, so to get that signature crunchy breading we are using powdered sugar- Yup! You read that correctly- sugar. The powdered sugar, in conjunction with the baking powder, will give your breading that unique Chick-fil-A crispy, crunchy texture. For this recipe I also researched what type of oil they use for their frying, and found out it was peanut—so sorry for all you nut allergy peeps, you’ll have to use another type of oil and have a less authentic version. Just kidding- I love you. I am just trolling. I always use my deep fryer for these copycat recipes to make as authentic as possible, but if you don’t own one, or refuse to use one; you can always pan fry it in enough oil to make sure it is completely submerged.

James told me that he always loved his spicy chicken sandwich with cheese, so I topped everything with a slice of vegan provolone. And Voila! You have now created the epic world-famous Chick-fil-A sandwich, vegan style. You’re welcome!

vegan spicy chicken sandwich recipe

4.8 from 28 reviews
Chick-fil-A Spicy Chicken Sandwich | Vegan Recipe
 
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
 
This is an easy vegan recipe for a Chick-Fil-A Chicken Sandwich that you can quickly and easily make at home. This vegan spicy chicken sandwich is made with battered seitan, tangy pickles, and vegan cheese.
Author:
Recipe type: Dinner
Cuisine: American
Serves: 4 Burgers
Ingredients
For the "Chicken Meat"
Marinade
Binder
Breading
Toppings
  • Burger buns, use whatever you want! I used white buns to be authentic
  • Pickles, cut into medallions
  • Your favourite Vegan cheese (I used provolone)
Instructions
Chicken "Meat"
  1. In a mixing bowl, mix together wheat gluten, salt, nutritional yeast, onion powder and poultry seasoning.
  2. In a larger bowl, combine ¾ broth and tahini and whisk until smooth.
  3. Mix the dry ingredients with the wet and stir until well combined.
  4. Knead the dough until it is elastic but not dry. Sprinkle some additional gluten flour if you find you have made your dough too sticky.
  5. Divide the dough into small little burgers. Keep in mind they will grow to about twice their size, so make then smaller then you would normally. Place in a casserole dish, covering them completely with vegetable broth.
  6. Cook burgers in broth for 1 hour at 350 degrees, flipping at 45 minutes. Allow to cool.
  7. Mix together the marinade in a plastic bag or shallow bowl and allow the seitan to soak for an hour.
Binder
  1. Mix together pickle juice and almond milk or egg replacer and set aside.
Breading
  1. Combine the flour, powdered sugar, paprika, black pepper, cayenne pepper, chilli powder, salt, baking powder, and garlic powder in a medium-sized mixing bowl. Set aside.
  2. Warm the peanut oil in a deep fryer, frying pan or pot over medium heat until you reach 325F.
  3. Toss the seitan “chicken” cutlet into the dry mixture and coat completely, then toss it into the wet, again coating evenly on all sides. Toss into the flour mixture again and coat generously. Repeat with the remaining cutlets and set aside.
  4. Place cutlets into the hot oil using a pair of tongs. Flip occasionally to ensure even cooking. Allow to cook for about 5 to 8 minutes, or until the outside is crisp and golden brown. Allow to drain on a paper towel. Repeat with the remaining cutlets and sprinkle with cayenne pepper to achieve ultimate spicy perfection.
Building your burger
  1. Place your buns in a frying pan over low heat until slightly toasted.
  2. Place vegan cheese on the bottom half of each bun, then top with the fried seitan chicken and top with 4-5 pickle medallions. Serve immediately.
Notes
You can also cook your plain seitan in broth on a stovetop, I find that this leaves you with softer seitan. I switch between the two methods depending on my mood.
Nutrition Information
Serving size: 1 burger Calories: 784 Fat: 27.7g Carbohydrates: 91g Sugar: 14.2g Protein: 36.5g

Chick-fil-A Chicken Sandwich recipe

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  • Noelle J says:

    I have made this many times, so it’s time to show this recipe some love! When first going veggie, what I missed most was a crispy chicken sandwich. This recipe fills that void. My husband begs me to make this regularly, and I have even shared with my non-veggie friends and family. I have tried many pre-made vegan crispy chicken sandwiches (Atlas Monroe, Gardein, Impossible), and nothing is as good as this recipe! Thank you for creating and sharing this!

  • Maurice says:

    I was just wondering if you’ve tried to freeze these? If so, how did they come out and at what point in the recipe did you freeze them? Thanks for the great recipe also.

  • Delicious! A bit of effort but well worth it, and they taste wonderful the next day too!

  • I have not made these. I am very sure these are delicious. Yet, I beg to differ that “you can make these quickly and easily . . .” The recipe states it take 1.5 hours. That is not quick. There are 21 ingredients and multiple steps, including deep frying which is never quick or easy. And the clean up would take almost as long. I have been cooking for decades and am speaking from experience. Please do not mislead people and state these are quick and easy.

    • I totally understand! I normally include cooking time and prep time, most recipes do not include cleaning time. Thank you for your feedback!

  • Renee Sanders says:

    I’m allergic to sesame seeds and nuts. Is there a substitute that I can use in place of the tahini?

    • try buying sunflower seed butter or blending raw sunflower seeds until it becomes sunflower seed butter and use that in place oh tahini

  • Made this for dinner tonight. And it came out awesome! Definitely a keeper! I did leave my filets in the marinade a bit longer than the hour suggested. I made rolls for the occasion too. Ty for the recipe!👍

  • do you have a pinterest? or can you add the pin button?

  • Delnora says:

    These were a hit at my house tonight! I used chickpea flour instead of egg replacer. And skipped the tablespoon of cayenne, but otherwise followed the recipe as written. Turned out better than I expected. next time I’ll double the amount of seitan and make the patties a little smaller and thinner. But there was plenty of dredging ingredients for a few more patties. Thanks, Candace!

  • Cynthia Cash says:

    I made this with store bought tempeh. I sliced it into 4 pieces and boiled it for about 20 minutes and refrigerated it until next day. Then I picked up the directions beginning with soaking in pickle juice. This is THE best new recipe I have tried in a long time! I have been searching for this flavor. The pickle juice made ALL the difference. Thank you.

    • EdgyVeg says:

      so glad to hear you liked it with tempeh! Thanks for letting us know your tips in your comment!

  • Dumb question- what is the marinade you used. 😬

  • Incredible! Made these with my Omni boyfriend and he was absolutely smitten. We mixed our “meat” in a food processor for peak shreddiness. Made an almond yogurt based “Chick-fil-A sauce” to go with… totally perfect.

  • Followed the recipe mostly, but used tofu instead of seitan and an air fryer instead of oil. Outstanding

  • Caitlin says:

    Really good! I made it the second time today and decided to adapt it a little for chicken nuggets. Didn’t need to bake as long, but that was the only change needed. The dry ingredients were able to adequately coat the chicken using the original amounts

  • Just curious if you have the nutritional information on this recipe?

  • This may sound like a silly question, but curious considering I was so excited about this recipe that I decided to make my seitan without reading fully but — If one made their own seitan without using vita wheat gluten, when would you add the seasonings in to the chicken meat (nutritional yeast, onion powder, poultry seasoning, salt and the wet ingredients) Would you do this by taking the seitan and mixing the seitan with these ingredients by kneading it in? or could you just add it to the marinate you’re cooking in the oven? — Going to experiment with this regardless but I thought I’d ask for future reference.

    • You can’t leave out the vital wheat gluten. It’s the main ingredient. That’s like leaving the flour out of your cookies. You could put the same seasoning on tofu. But if you left the gluten out here, you’d have seasoned broth.

  • This is outstanding!!! Totally just what we needed. We made them last night as is and are having them again tonight. Thanks for the share! Love the heat.

  • EdgyVeg says:

    the first few ingredients are for making the “chicken”

  • I made seitan for the first time earlier today, so I didn’t use your seitan recipe, but next time I will. I made the this sandwich and OMG was it delicious! Crispy and crunchy like Chick Fil-A. I substitute the powdered sugar with corn starch because I didn’t have any. Also vegetable oil because I never peanut. Thank you for giving the recipe for something I really missed eating. I can’t wait for my daughter to get home because she will flip. She literally use to live for Chick Fil-A nuggets and sandwiches while growing up.

  • Pax Shankland says:

    I am hopeful that these will turn out as advertised; but the total time on the recipe is completely misleading. Total time is listed at 1:30, yet the seitan has to cook for an hour and marinate for an hour; two hours plus prep and frying. I haven’t tried them yet (it’s getting darn late) but I am on a mission to try this recipe.

  • Melissa says:

    Hi Candice! In some of your recipes like this one and the nuggets you put the dough in a casserole in the oven, but in others like the Popeye’s, you boil it on the stove. What is the difference?
    Also, in your cookbook, you suggest for “chicken breasts” to wrap them tightly in foil and bake them but not boil/marinate them in any broth, but for everything else (chicken burgers, shnitzel, nuggets, this recipe, Popeyes, etc), they do need the broth. I’m confused. Aren’t actual chicken breasts used to make all of these kinds of recipes in fast food places – hence the texture and flavor should be equal for vegan versions of “chicken breasts” and everything else? Please illuminate!

  • I love these! I have family coming into town that want me to make these for them. In a effort to save time, could I make them ahead of time to the point of cooking them for 1 hour? Then let them cool over night or even marinate over night? Thanks!

  • Can the seitan chicken be frozen before marinating?

  • EdgyVeg says:

    Hi Ronnie! We have updated all the links, so everything should be in working order now.

  • EdgyVeg says:

    Hi Leuni! We fixed the re-direct error 🙂

    • Molly says:

      Considering these took over two hours to come together – I’m a bit disappointed.

      I’m not sure if it was the way I prepared them, but my “chicken” patties came out super chewy. This is my first time trying this type of vegan chicken (seitan), but it also tasted mainly like bread.

      Definitely not a recipe I will be trying again. Great idea though.

  • Marshmadness says:

    I made these a couple times before, and they were incredible. But now, they keep turning extremely mushy. I can’t figure out what I’m doing wrong. I’m following the recipe exactly with no changes. I just took them out of the broth, and wrapped them in foil to bake for an extra 30 minutes. Hopefully that firms hem up some…

    • EdgyVeg says:

      I’m sorry you were having trouble with the seitan. It is a difficult recipe to master. Are you kneading it? And for how long?

  • Courtney says:

    This would be my third venture at seitan-making, and this will be a repeat recipe for sure! Aside from setting aside some time to prep, these came together quite easily. I tripled the batch as we were having company over, and they turned out incredibly delicious. I even over-kneaded them a little, so they weren’t even at their full-potential! Skipped the tahini, and wasn’t comfortable adding peanut butter, but I don’t feel I was missing out on anything, next time if I have some tahini, or sesame seeds to buzz up, I’ll add it in. Didn’t have enough pickle juice to completely cover during the marinating phase, but still turned out incredible. I can only imagine with more pickle juice they’ll be better! I couldn’t get over how much it LOOKED, and smelled, and tasted like a chicken burger. I brought left overs to work and had my meat-eating-boss try it, and he couldn’t believe that it tasted like a chicken burger. Will definitely be making more of these in the future to keep on hand to grill up for lunches through the week for something a bit more substantial. Thank you so much! 🙂 <3

    • EdgyVeg says:

      Hi Courtney! I’m so happy to hear that you loved the recipe and shared it with so many others! Keep on spreading the vegan love!

  • Never made anything like this before. Turned out amazing. Tasted like chick fil a. We used frozen vegan chicken and it still tutured out perfect.

  • A little late to the game but wanted to give my thumbs up on this! I used pre-made store bought seitan. The brand is Upton’s and can be found at Whole Foods. I pan fried in a shallow amount of oil. The “chicken” was fan-effing-tastic. The hubs and I have been vegan for one year but I’ve been vegetarian for seven years. This definitely quelled any craving for fast food that I’ve had. Thank you for creating this!

  • OMGOODNESS!!!…I can’t remember the last time that I’ve had chicken much less a Chic-Fil-A chicken sandwich and all I can say is that after making THIS sandwich I want to become a walking talking spokesperson who encourages people to ONLY eat this faux chicken. I’ve been vegan for years now and I can honestly say that this chicken is as close to the real thing that anyone can possibly get. EdgyVeg you are my “She-Ro”!!!

  • Kelikaneki says:

    Delicious! What a great recipe! My husband raved about it and he is very picky about his seitan. Thank you!

  • Do you have recommendations for making this recipe gluten free?

    • sadly not. You can use your favourite gluten free chicken alternative and bread it in gluten free all-purpose flour? So sorry- I’m not very good at making recipes GF.

  • If I use premade Seitan do I still need to do the baking part? So excited to try this!!

  • I would love to try this recipe but do you have recommended substitutions to make it gluten free?

  • Mine are in the oven now, I flipped them after 45 minutes and they weren’t doubled in size and they also looked to be falling apart!? I followed the recipe exactly! Hoping these turn out, really looking forward to them!

  • Delicious!! Followed the recipe exactly but triple dipped them for a thicker spicy crispy batter. Tossed them in hot sauce and served in a steamed burger bun. Very impressed but would make 8 thinner, flatter ones next time as these were a little thick

  • Not vegan, not even vegetarian, but my daughter is vegan, and I like family dinners, so I made these tonight for the family. I didn’t follow the rules exactly. I doubled up the chicken patty mix and subbed half pickle juice for broth while making the patties. I didn’t marinate. (Truth is, I was short on pickle juice.) Then I used vinegar in the binder. Delicious! Thank you.

    • What kind of vinegar did you use for the binder?? I’ve made these before and I’m skipping the marinade the second time around.

    • I’ve made these before and decided to try them without the marinate out this second time, not a huge fan of pickles to begin with. What kind of vinegar did you use? Apple cider? White?

  • This looks great and I really want to try it! However, I am confused with step 6. By cooking, do you mean baking the seitan pieces at 350° ? Or are they on the stovetop? I hope this is not a silly question, just asking for clarification. Thanks so much!

    • yes, sorry- in the oven. I see how that’s confusing. sorry abotu that.

      • I have made these several times and they are amazing!! My non-vegan husband requests them often. Question: my oven is broken. Do you think it would work if I simmered in broth on the stovetop for the same amount of time on low heat? I have made other seitan that way and it worked so I’m hoping it works with this recipe too.

  • I never comment on recipes, but I had to with this one – my husband and I LOVE it. We are both vegan and I make this so often it’s insane. We eat it plain, on sandwiches and in wraps, and even though the recipe looks fairly complicated, it’s really easy to make – most of the time you’re not actively working because the seitan is baking or marinating. It also yields a lot of patties, so we always have plenty of leftovers. I’ve made it for non-vegans – even non-vegetarians – and they’ve loved it, too. The breading is delicious, and I love it because, even if I’m running low on something, it still works. I’ve swapped the tahini for peanut butter when I was out, and when we only had a little bit of pickle juice I skip the marinating step and saved it to use in the binder (not quite as flavorful but it is still very tasty!). All-in-all, I just had to say that I love this recipe, thanks so much!

  • They take longer than an hour and a half if they cook for 1 hour AND have to marinade for an hour! Kind of disappointed that the instructions states differently than the top of the recipe that say 1.5 hours. I guess dinner will be VERY late ☹ hope it’s worth the hungry family.

  • I would love to try this, but can’t have gluten. Any acceptable substitutes.

  • Deborah Baker says:

    I made this today! The only thing I did differently was I used the Instant Pot and cooked them at high pressure for 4 minutes instead of baking them. So yummy, and nice and crunchy when fried! We have leftovers. Thanks!

    • How did you fry in instant pot? Just got one. Thanks

      • EdgyVeg says:

        I have never personally fried in an instant pot. I am sure there are some good tutorials online though!

    • recipe calls for 1 hour of cooking at 350, flipping at 45. you made yours on high pressure for 4 mins? i want to try this! did you need to flip them? also, did you do natural pressure release or instant?

  • Danielle Shenise says:

    Can this be pan fried in a 1/4″ of oil or does it have to be full on fried?

  • Dolie says:

    My seitan is in the oven as we speak and I’m SO excited to eat this!! But quick question, how long do these last in the fridge and is the taste compromised at all after a day or two in the fridge? Can they be frozen? Thank you very much for this recipe. Although I haven’t even eaten it yet I have a feeling it’s going to be bomb as heck! 🙂

    • Ingrid says:

      How did yours turn out in the oven? How long did you cook and at what temperature.

  • Nichole says:

    I have celiacs so I cannot have seitan. Is there an alternative you could think of?

  • The first time I made these they were near perfection. This time, they did not cook in the center. Not sure what happened. I did kneed them in my mixer. How long should the dough knead?

  • Are you kidding me with this recipe? I would eat this everyday if I could. Thank you from the bottom of my happy tummy!

  • Silly question here: what kind of pickle juice? Dill pickle, or bread and butter pickle, or sweet gherkin style pickle?

  • Ashley says:

    This was SO good. We made homemade buns and put pickles, lettuce, tomatoes, and mustard on ours! When I make this next time (yes there will be another time or two…or three..) I will be sure to knead it enough. I think a little rest would have been good after I mixed everything together, and before kneading the patties. A few of mine fell apart and a few stayed together perfectly, but I was SO pleased with the outcome. Thank you!!

  • Which egg replacer product did you use? Looks yummy!!!! Thanks

  • This is amazing. I have been vegetarian for nearly 3 years and this is by far the best meat substitute I have ever had! From what I remember, this is EXTREMELY similar to chick fil a and is definitely worth making!

  • Just tried this one, actually i think seitan smells and tasts a little like dog food but gave this a try with loads of chilli and cayenne and hot saus and pepper, guess what. I did’nt get compleetly rid of the weird seitan smell, but it tased great. Even my meatloving hubby liked it. Thanks for sharing????????

  • I would love to try this recipe but I only cook for one! I was wondering if this is something that could be saved as leftovers, and if so should be frozen or refrigerated?

    Thanks!

  • I made this tonight for my meat-eating husband who has to cut down on meat eating to stop gout attacks and he absolutely loved it. I loved it, too! Thanks!

  • Katie K says:

    Your seitan chicken recipe is SO GODDAMN GOOD. HAIL SEITAN!

  • This sounds delicious! However, since I’ve gone vegan for my health, I’m avoiding oils and frying. I find most things crisp up baked in the oven on a sheet of parchment paper and a baking pan. Do you think that would work with these? (I know they won’t be ‘authentic’ that way.)

    • EdgyVeg says:

      I have not tried it! You should try it out and let me know! That way I can recommend it as an option to readers!:)

      • I have been vegetarian for five months now. Do you have ingredient substitutes for vegetarians? This sounds delicious.

        • EdgyVeg says:

          substitutes for what? This recipe is vegan so also suitable for vegetarians 🙂

        • This recipe is designed to be as delicious for everyone; vegans, vegetarians, and meat-eaters! This is a plant-based recipe for all and wouldn’t recommend any ingredient substitutes as it’s delicious as is 🙂

    • Did you ever try it baked instead of fried? Interested in hearing how it went.

    • Jacki Redfern says:

      You need an air fryer..no oil needed and it turns out so good..just like fried..!

  • kristine says:

    Hello!

    This looks so good but I’m fairly lazy 🙁 Could I use store bought seitan instead of making my own? I’m not too familiar with cooking with it, so that may be a silly question.

    Kristine

    • Deanna says:

      I used Gardein cutlets a few times and they were great!

      • I am making mine with the Gardein cutlets also….Did you still marinade them in the pickle juice?

        • EdgyVeg says:

          I won’t marinade them in pickle juice because I don’t know how the cutlets would react. You could also test it by cutting the corner off one cutlet and marinade it to see how it holds up. Let me know what happens if you decide to try!

  • Bethany Awesome says:

    Holy smokes! I just bought a deep fryer and wanted to break her in special-style. I’ve only toyed with seitan a couple of times, but I made this tonight and I am a new woman! I tested the recipe for an upcoming dinner with a friend who doesn’t do spicy, so I left out the cayenne (and added sliced onions to the baking broth). It turned out fabulous despite missing the heat. Instead of making four patties, I made nine big nuggets.

    I’m saving the leftover broth and flour mix to make more soon! Thanks a whole bunch!

  • Michelle says:

    Very excited to try this recipe out! Pre-vegan this was my favorite fast food item.

  • Valerie says:

    These were very good! Made them tonight for my omnivore husband, and he was all about them. I will say that the flour mixture was a bit too much. Like, cut it in half for only four parties. Other than that, excellent! I’m all about the cayenne. Definitley used all that you called for!

    • Only being a vegetarian for two years, and slowly dabbling into becoming a vegan, the only real meat I have “missed” is a fried chicken sandwich. This recipe is amazing, and I am so, so happy I have stumbled across it! I have made this several times, and each time is better than the last!

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